From the great Sir John A. Macdonald on through Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of today, our 23 Prime Ministers have delivered countless thousands of speeches. There were the eloquent tributes made by Sir Wilfrid Laurier; barn-burning opposition addresses by Mr. Diefenbaker; profound and brave speeches like those made in the Commons by Brian Mulroney and Pierre Trudeau in 1983 as Canada finally came to terms with the Manitoba languages issue; Stephen Harper’s moving and sincere apology to Indigenous Peoples for residential schools, and many more since 1867.But, on this date in 1891, speaking in the Senate, Prime Minister Sir John Abbott delivered what I would argue is the most honest and humble speech every made by a Canadian prime minister. Abbott had just become Prime Minister (following the death of Sir John A. a few days before) and he explained to his colleagues in the Red Chamber how, in his view, he’d come to be Canada’s third PM.“But the position which I to-night have the honour to occupy, which is far beyond any hopes or aspirations I ever had, and I am free to confess beyond any merit I have (cries of no, no), has come to me very much probably in the nature of compromise. I am here very much because I am not particularly obnoxious to anybody,” he said.His address continued in the same vein.“Hon. Gentlemen: Cries of No. No.”Abbott: “Something like the principle on which it is reported some men are selected as candidates for the Presidency of the United States - it is not that they are so able, it is not that they are so wonderfully clever, or such great statesmen, but it is that they are harmless, and have not made any enemies. I am inclined to think that that sentiment has had a great deal to do with the position in which I am placed.“I do not feel at all conscious of any ability to conduct the affairs of this great country in the way that they should be conducted, and I am ten times more conscious of and ten times more overwhelmed with the responsibility I have assumed when I reflect on the great man whose place I am supposed to fill in this Government. ““However, I felt, as you may suppose, greatly honoured in being asked to undertake the task of forming a Ministry, and although I assumed it with reluctance, I tried to do it, as I try to do everything to which I put my hand, to the best of my ability and energy; and I shall endeavour to continue to do my duty in this position with all the ability and industry, whatever it may be, that I possess. That is all I can promise. I cannot promise that my services shall be of great account, or that I shall render great service to my country.”“I can promise that my whole strength of mind and talent, whatever it is, shall be devoted to its interests. To the members of the Senate who have spoken this evening, and who have overwhelmed me with praise, which I cannot claim to deserve, which I know I owe more to their friendly feeling towards me than to any merits I possess - to those members, I can only say: hon. gentlemen, I thank you most cordially and sincerely for the kind sentiments you have been pleased to express towards me, and my greatest hope, in what little time is left me of my career, is that I may be able to deserve them in some small degree.”With that very humble self-assessment, Sir John Abbott’s term as prime minister began. He would serve in Canada’s highest political post for only 17 months.  He was forced to step down due to ill health in November 1892 – when he was succeeded by Sir John Thompson.  Sadly, Abbott passed into history not long after, in October 1893.[caption id="attachment_543758" align="alignleft" width="311"] Sir John Abbott, House of Commons Collection[/caption]Arthur Milnes is an accomplished public historian and award-winning journalist.  He was research assistant on The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney’s best-selling Memoirs and also served as a speechwriter to then-Prime Minister Stephen Harper and as a Fellow of the Queen’s Centre for the Study of Democracy under the leadership of Tom Axworthy.  A resident of Kingston, Ontario, Milnes serves as the in-house historian at the 175 year-old Frontenac Club Hotel.